The goal of the action research project on visual culture is to contribute to the dialogue on the exploratory ecology vs commodity culture of the elementary school classroom. Exploratory culture, unlike commodity culture, applauds open-ended thinking, inchoate imaginings, and critical thinking with its attachment to divergent paths to resolving…

Questions often arise spontaneously in a curious mind, due to an observation about a new or unknown environment. When an expert is right there, prepared to engage in dialog, this curiosity can be harnessed and converted into highly effective, intrinsically motivated learning. This paper investigates how this kind of situated informal learning can…

This article describes a series of public space projects based on the contemporary practice of interventionist artists who seek to creatively transform spaces and disrupt the ritual of the everyday. Two of the four public space projects were planned for school spaces: (1) a mock marathon during class transitions ("Monthly Meeting Marathon"); and…

This paper describes an experimental course in the preparation of art teachers. The goal of the course was to engage final-year art students in thinking about the fundamental questions in aesthetic education and in considering various views of their roles as teachers of art. The classes presented a dialogue between two teachers: a philosopher of…

In 2005, Maria Acaso, professor in Art Education at the Universidad Complutense Madrid in Spain and a co-author of this article, conducted a comparative research project on visual configurations at different art schools in Europe and the United States. The study of hidden visual curriculum examines how knowledge and cultural/political/social…

Critical art histories have strategically contributed to the constitution of visual culture studies as an interdisciplinary field that interprets the mediations of mass-produced imagery in contemporary culture. This article advocates for an anti-historicist perspective of art historical knowledge connected to cultural analysis and centered on the…

This article addresses dimensions of contemporary policy that are influencing art teaching and learning. In the light of recent policy, and its challenges to creativity, art educators have been placed in the position where we need to make trouble through a re-definition and extension of professional responsibility. In response to negative impacts…

This article examines positions in favor of the inclusion of popular culture in an education curricula by Vincent Lanier, June King McFee, Laura Chapman, and Brent and Marjory Wilson. It is argued that their work, both individually and collectively, focused on the realm of the everyday and helped posit popular cultural images as legitimate objects…

Studying imagery, irrespective of the kind, must focus equally upon its aesthetic attractiveness, its sensory lures, and its oftentimes dubious social ideology. The terms "aesthetic" and "ideology" are addressed as problematic and are defined in current, ordinary language terms: aesthetics as visual appearances and their effects and ideology as a…

To breathe a spark of life into public spaces that seem cold and lifeless, progressive architects and planners have increasingly turned to artists for help. Some typical results of this cooperation can be seen in Philadelphia where a variety of stimulating sculptures have been arranged. (Author/RK)

Current discussions regarding the notion of visual culture in art educational practice center the actions of the viewer as participant within the networks of visuality common in many contemporary societies. Surveillance technologies and techniques shift this notion of participation from active to passive, from seeing to being seen. This article…

The city is harsh and confusing" visually; the art teacher's job includes helping children to experience the natural world. (Author/SP)

Author lists direct ways for art teachers to combat visual pollution. (Author)

One of the most significant issues in art education today is the discourse surrounding visual culture: what it is, where it is located, how it is accessed, and its significance to art education. The development of new visual genres and technological innovations for creating and accessing them, have multiplied the forms of information that are…